Miners honor players

By JEREMIAH BARTZ

Frontiersman.com

PALMER — During Pete Christopher’s first season as general manager of the Mat-Su Miners, the Palmer-based Alaska Baseball League team included Monmouth University junior Mike Kelly.

The Freehold, N.J., native was the top utility player for the Miners in 2003. He played in 33 games in the field and led the Miners with five saves on the mound.

It’s been nearly a decade since he wore the Miners green and gold, but Kelly will be forever linked to the Valley baseball team. One of the Miners’ postseason team award is named for Kelly, an honor that recognizes a player who can do it all.

Looking at the 2012 edition of the Miners, Clint Freeman was the easy, maybe even obvious, choice.

Freeman — a standout in the field, at the plate and on the mound — earned the Mike Kelly Award during the team’s award ceremony late last month.

“I’m not sure if he missed a game,” Miners pitching coach Nate Fritz said about Freeman. “In some capacity, he played in about all of them.”

Freeman, an East Tennessee State University standout, won the Alaska Baseball League batting title, hitting a whopping .379 in a league typically dominated by pitching.

“You don’t want to play for just (individual) titles, but Freeman deserves it. He grinded all year for us,” Fritz said.

Freeman also led the league with 55 hits and 14 doubles, and was second on the team with 26 runs and 24 RBI. He played first base, designated hitter, left field and right field for the Miners.

If that wasn’t enough, Freeman also pitched in 11 of his team’s 40 games. He made three starts and notched a pair of saves. Freeman fanned 20 hitters, while walking only seven, in 23 innings.

Freeman was one of five players honored. Jay Calhoun was named the most valuable pitcher, Bill Cullen earned most valuable position player honors and Erik Harbutz was named the overall MVP.

Nash Knight received the Stan Zaborac Award, which is named for the former Mat-Su Miners general manager.

Calhoun, the Miners ace in 2012, was among the top pitchers in the ABL. The Dallas Baptist righty finished second in the league with a 1.38 earned run average. Calhoun was also 3-0 with 15 strikeouts and notched both of the Miners complete games in 2012.

“He has a great pedigree,” Miners field manager Chris Gordon said about Calhoun, son of former Major League pitcher Jeff Calhoun. “He knows what it takes to pitch at this level.”

Cullen stands at just 5-foot-8, but the speedy centerfielder was one of the top power hitters in the ABL. Cullen finished second in the league in home runs (eight) and RBI (31).

Harbutz helped anchor the Miners infield at shortstop, and also was among the team’s top run-producers. The Wichita State product hit three home runs and drove in 15 runs in league play.

Knight played in 31 of 40 league games, and led the club with 23 walks. He also scored a dozen runs.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com, follow him on Twitter @matsu_sports and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.

Overall MVP: Erik Harbutz, Wichita State

Pitching MVP: Jay Calhoun, Dallas Baptist

Position MVP: Bill Cullen, Virginia Commonwealth

Mike Kelley Award: Clint Freeman, East Tennessee State

Stan Zaborac Award: Nash Knight, Dallas Baptist